In the case of motor vehicles, a component for delivering and directing a controlled amount of ambient air or heated or cooled air into the vehicle interior is referred to as an air outlet or air register. The strength of the airflow flowing out can be adjusted for example by means of a fan arranged upstream of the air outlet.
An air outlet contains a sort of grate, which is usually formed by a number of adjustable louvers, also referred to as air baffles, ribs, or wings, with which the flow direction of the airflow exiting from the air discharge opening can be varied. The louvers are generally adjusted manually by tabs arranged on louver assemblies or by control wheels arranged next to the louver assemblies.
A number of air outlets are usually distributed over the width of the dashboard, also referred to as the instrument panel. For example, one may be arranged on the left and one on the right and one or two in the middle, in order to be able to satisfy the individual requirements of different vehicle occupants in respect of ventilation, heating and cooling.
In modern passenger vehicles there is still the problem of utilization of the limited space available. This problem is exacerbated by the trend of providing increasingly larger screens inside the motor vehicle, for example on the center console of the vehicle. Although the screen makes it possible to accommodate a multiplicity of functions, which can be controlled in a software-assisted manner via a corresponding manipulation on the screen, the screen significantly reduces the space necessary for various buttons and operating knobs provided in the form of hardware, for example for controlling the start-stop function of the vehicle or the parking assistance of the vehicle or for controlling the heating and ventilation or air-conditioning system and the like.
An air outlet, generally of the type described, is known from EP 1 842 702 B1 as part of an air distribution system for the passenger compartment of a vehicle. The flow of air from an air outlet into the passenger compartment is controlled by an activation device which comprises a proximity sensor intended to activate the air outlet following the detection of the presence of a body, for example a hand, a short distance from the air outlet.
The document DE 10 2012 021 519 A1, which is likewise generic, discloses a ventilation system for a motor vehicle having a display and operating unit for selecting a ventilation region within the motor vehicle toward which airflow is to be directed and having a control unit for controlling variably adjustable air outlets, such that these direct an airflow to the ventilation region.
The document DE 10 2010 018 105 A1, which is likewise generic, discloses a vehicle cockpit which comprises at least one air outlet of a ventilation and air-conditioning system and also an operating device for detecting user inputs. If, during the operation of the operating device, a hand or an arm of the user is located for example in a monitored spatial region, the ventilation and air-conditioning system is controlled in such a way that no airflow in the region of the hand or arm is caused during the operation of the operating device by the user.